2C-B first became popuwarized in de United States as a short-wived substitute for de street drug Ecstasy when MDMA became iwwegaw in 1985.[5] Many 2C-B users are young aduwts who attend raves.[2] Though 2C-B is stiww used in de rave subcuwture, commonwy mistaken for and/or sowd as Ecstasy, its intentionaw use has become more common in de 2000s.[6]

Street prices range between $10 and $30 per tabwet in de United States in 2011 when purchased in smaww qwantities.[2] Larger retaiw purchases cost between $200 and $500 per gram. Whowesawe purchases of 2C-B can wower de price ($100 to $300 per gram in 2001, $50 to $100 on de darknet in 2020[needs update]).[3]

The September 1998 issue of Journaw of Anawyticaw Toxicowogy reported dat very wittwe data exists about de pharmacowogicaw properties, metabowism, and toxicity of 2C-B. The rewationship between its use and deaf are unknown, uh-hah-hah-hah.[3] The common oraw recreationaw dose is around 15–25 mg,[7] at which visuaw and auditory effects are experienced. Severe adverse reactions are extremewy rare, but use of 2C-B has been winked to significant brain injury in one case where de dosage was unknown, and de purity of de chemicaw was not verified.[8]

When sowd as "Ecstasy", tabwets containing 2C-B often contain about 5 mg of de drug, an amount which produces stimuwatory effects dat mimic de effects of MDMA; in contrast, tabwets marketed as 2C-B have warger qwantities of de drug (10–20 mg) which cause hawwucinogenic effects.[10] Street purity of 2C-B, when tested, has been found to be rewativewy high.[11] Researchers in Spain found dat 2C-B sampwes in de country doubwed between 2006 and 2009, switched from primariwy powder form to tabwets, and exhibited "wow fawsification rates".[12] An anawysis of street sampwes in de Nederwands found impurities "in smaww percentages"; onwy one of de impurities, de N-acetyw derivative of 2C-B, couwd be identified, and comprised 1.3% of de sampwe. The audors suggested dat dis compound was a by-product of 2C-B syndesis.[10]

Littwe or no academic research has been conducted on de effects of 2C-B in humans. The information avaiwabwe is wargewy anecdotaw and wimited. Effects are often described as being more easiwy managed dan oder psychedewics;[13] it is often compared to a mixture of a serotonergic psychedewic and MDMA.[12] At 5–10 mg, experiments wif young chickens have shown it to produce effects simiwar to a wow dosage of amphetamines.[14]

The anecdotaw effects of 2C-B dat have been reported by users on onwine discussion forums incwude:[15][16][17]

At wow doses de experience may shift in intensity from engaging to miwd/undetectabwe. Experienced users report de abiwity to take controw of de effects and switch from engaged to sober at wiww

The hawwucinations have a tendency to decrease and den increase in intensity, giving de users a sense of “waves” or even gwowing. These are popuwarwy described as “cwichéd ’70s visuaws” or objects taking on "water cowor" wike textures

Whiwe de effects of de drug often render users unabwe to concentrate deepwy on anyding in particuwar, some can become engrossed in an activity such as watching a movie or pwaying a video game, distracting demsewves from de visuaw and auditory effects of de drug

Excessive giggwing or smiwing is common, as is a tendency for deeper “bewwy waughs”

Some users say dat de effects are more intense when wistening to music and report dat dey can see sounds and noises

When orawwy consumed, 2C-B has a much wonger deway before de onset of effects dan when it is insuffwated. Oraw ingestion generawwy takes roughwy 45–75 minutes for de effects to be fewt, pwateau wasts 2–4 hours, and coming down wasts 1–2 hours. Rectaw administration onset varies from 5–20 minutes. Insuffwated onset takes 1–10 minutes for effects to be fewt. The duration can wast from 4 to 12 hours depending on route of administration, dose, and oder factors.[15]

Wif insuffwation, de effects are more abrupt and intense but have a significantwy shorter duration, whiwe oraw usage resuwts in a miwder, wonger experience. When insuffwated, de onset happens very rapidwy, usuawwy reaching de peak at about 20–40 minutes and pwateauing for 2–3 hours. 2C-B is awso considered one of de most painfuw drugs to insuffwate, wif users reporting intense nasaw burning.[13] The sudden intensity of de experience combined wif de pain can often start de experience wif a negative imprint and nausea is awso increased wif insuffwation, compounding de issue.

2C-B has been shown to be metabowized by wiver hepatocytes, resuwting in deamination and demedywation dat produces severaw products. Oxidative deamination resuwts in de 2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimedoxyphenyw)-edanow (BDMPE) and 4-bromo-2,5-dimedoxyphenywacetic acid (BDMPAA) metabowites. Additionawwy, 4-bromo-2,5-dimedoxybenzoic acid (BDMBA) can awso be produced by oxidative deamination, uh-hah-hah-hah. Furder metabowism of BDMPE and BDMPAA may occur by demedywation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awternativewy, de water metabowites can be generated by demedywation of 2C-B fowwowed by oxidative deamination, uh-hah-hah-hah.[18]

A variety of N-substituted derivatives of 2C-B have been tested, incwuding N-medyw-2CB, N,N-dimedyw-2CB, N-edyw-2CB and N-benzyw-2CB. Most simpwe awkyw derivatives were considerabwy wess potent dan 2C-B, wif N-edyw-2CB for instance having a 40 times wower affinity for de 5-HT2A receptor. The N-benzyw derivative however was found to have higher binding affinity dan 2C-B itsewf, wif N-(4-bromobenzyw)-2CB binding even more tightwy.[24] This initiaw research did not incwude functionaw assays of activity, but water wed to de devewopment of potent substituted N-benzyw derivatives such as 25B-NBOMe,[25] and 25B-NBOH.

2C-B is used as endeogen by de Sangoma, Nyanga, and Amagqirha peopwe in pwace of deir traditionaw pwants; dey refer to de chemicaw as Ubuwawu Nomadodowo, which roughwy transwates to "Medicine of de Singing Ancestors".[26][27][28]

2C-B is controwwed in Austrawia and on de wist of substances subject to import and export controws (Appendix B). It was pwaced on Scheduwe One of de Drugs Misuse and Trafficking Act when it first came to notice in 1994, when in a showcase wegaw battwe chemist R. Simpson was charged wif manufacturing de substance in Sydney. Awexander Shuwgin came to Austrawia to testify on behawf of de defense, to no avaiw.

2C-B is not specificawwy wisted in de Austrawia Poisons Standard (October 2015), however simiwar drugs such as 2C-T-2 and 2C-I are making 2C-B faww under de Austrawian anawogue act.[34]

In de Nederwands, 2C-B became a wist I substance of de Opium Law despite no heawf incidents occurring. Fowwowing de ban, oder phenedywamines were sowd in pwace of 2C-B untiw de Nederwands became de first country in de worwd to ban 2C-I, 2C-T-2 and 2C-T-7 awongside 2C-B.

2C-B was first cwassified as "heawf hazard" under de act Lagen om förbud mot vissa häwsofarwiga varor [sv] (Act on de Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Heawf) as of Apriw 1, 1999, under SFS 1999:58[43] dat made it iwwegaw to seww or possess. Then it became scheduwe I as of June 1, 2002, pubwished in LVFS 2002:4[44] but miswabewed "2-CB" in de document. However, dis was corrected in a new document, LVFS 2009:22[45] effective December 9, 2009.

Aww drugs in de 2C famiwy are Cwass A under de Misuse of Drugs Act which means dey are iwwegaw to produce, suppwy or possess. Possession carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment whiwe suppwy is punishabwe by wife imprisonment and an unwimited fine.[47]